PETA Activists Arrested in Peoria, IL

In August, two People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activists were arrested in Peoria, Illinois, after they stripped to their underwear and stepped in to over-sized displays designed to look like a supermarket meat package. A sign on the package read, “Only cannibals eat animals. Go vegetarian.”

Eric Deardorff, 24, and Melissa Sehgal, 28, were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct outside the headquarters of Caterpillar Inc.

PETA campaign coordinator Chris Link was also ticketed for obstructing the public right of way. Link told the Peoria Journal Star that the arrests came as a shock,

This was quite surprising. The officers didn’t give us any warning or say we were doing anything wrong. They just started throwing blankets [over the protesters].

Another PETA protester was arrested in 2001 in almost the same spot after disrobing to protest cruelty. Charges in that case were eventually dropped.

Peoria police Sgt. Henry Minton told the Peoria Star Journal,

They will be charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing the public right of way and maybe protesting without a permit.[Protesters will be arrested] if they come here and take their clothes off, obstruct the sidewalk when they disrobe in the city of Peoria.

Source:

Two anti-meat activists arrested. Elaine Hopkins, Peoria Journal Star, August 25, 2005.

Why PETA Stopped Its “Holocaust On Your Plate” Campaign

In April, Brownsville, Texas, KFC manager John Olivo greeted three protester from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals by turning on his sprinklers as the three approached his restaurant.

Olivo told the Brownsville Herald,

They [the protesters] already hit me in McAllen. I was already waiting for them here in Brownsville.

The PETA protesters also faced one especially active counter-protester, David Ingersoll, who had his children passing out anti-PETA pamphlets, and high school students yelling insults from the windows of their bus.

PETA’s Chris Link told The Brownsville Herald,

It hasn’t been quite like this in other parts of the state. It’s a rarity that we get this.

The odd thing is that, of course, PETA has compared the slaughter of chickens to the Holocaust, but what is its current proposal for improving chicken welfare — gassing chickens to death in large chambers.

According to the Brownsville Herald,

“We’re out of here today to raise awareness about the chickens,” said link, a Baltimore native. “All we want them (slaughter houses) to do is gas the chickens instead of killing them.” [Apparently Link is a bit confused about a lot of things].

PETA suggests a “controlled-atmosphere” killing, using gases such as nitrogen and argon to kill the chickens.

The gas chambers would ensure a painless death for the birds, PETA reported in its web site. Slaughter houses currently use an electrical stun method or cut off the birds’ heads.

So that’s why the group backed off its Holocaust claims. It’d be a bit difficult to wander the country claiming meat eating is just like the Holocaust while simultaneously arguing in favor of gas chambers for chickens.

Finally, Link told one of the most bald-faced lies I’ve seen even for a PETA member. Link actually told the Brownsville Herald that,

Almost all (PETA’s) money goes directly to fund animals. Every dime goes directly to helping animals whether it’s through demonstrations (or) to raise awareness.

Uh, Chris, have you read PETA’s tax returns lately?

Source:

PETA gets rude welcome in Brownsville. Gilberto Salinas, The Brownsville Herald, April 14, 2005.

PETA Doesn’t Target Children . . . Except When It Does!

Back in January, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ Ray Hinkle repeated Ingrid Newkirk’s lie that PETA doesn’t target children. Hinkle was quoted by the Roanoake Times as saying,

[PETA] never hands out things to children under the age of 13 without parents’ permission.

Hmmm, so why did activists show up at Central Middle School in Waterloo, Iowa, to hand out PETA’s Chicken Chumps cards to the students there. Most of the students at Central Middle School are going to be under 13. Was PETA going to ask for permission slips or identification before handing out its cards? Of course not.

On the other hand, someone at the staff of Central Middle School was on the ball (emphasis added),

[PETA activist Chris] Link contacted school officials ahead of time. They let Link’s three-person team come on school property to distribute the cards and talk to the children.

Apparently the fact that Wednesday is early dismissal for Waterloo students didn’t come up in the conversation. At least not until Link showed up at Central at 1 p.m. to scope out the situation in advance of the 2:25 p.m. event.

That’s when he was told the children would be leaving for the day in about a minute.

Sounds like he needs to be handing out Chris Link Chump cards. Apparently Link did rush back to his car, grabbed the cards, and managed to hand out about 100 of them. No word on how he managed to obtain the parent’s permission for all those kids under 13.

Anyways, the freaks activists then headed to KFC to picket along with a person dressed in a chicken costume holding a sign saying, “I’m not a nugget.” (Not that anyone was going to mistake an idiot in a chicken costume for something as delicious as a chicken nugget).

Finally, lets take a look at PETA’s Elizabeth Cooper’s effort to explain the Chicken Chumps cards, which feature characters like “Sickly Sally” and “Tubby Tammy.” Cooper told The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier,

They’re not gross, but they are icky.

Sort of like PETA’s claim that they don’t condone terrorism, they just think it’d be great if animal enterprises were sent on fire while they hire individuals who think it’d be great if people working in animal enterprises were murdered.

PETA — they’re not terrorists, but they are gross and icky.

Source:

PETA demonstration moves to fast-food restaurant. Jeff Reinitz, Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier, February 24, 2005.